<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>A Cup A Day Keeps The Students At Bay by FallOutFromGrace</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23066617">A Cup A Day Keeps The Students At Bay</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallOutFromGrace/pseuds/FallOutFromGrace'>FallOutFromGrace</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>School's Boring, Let's Fall In Love Instead [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>My Chemical Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Meet-Cute, Short One Shot, Teacher Frank Iero, Teacher Gerard Way</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:02:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,367</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23066617</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallOutFromGrace/pseuds/FallOutFromGrace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Every morning, like clockwork, a cup of coffee was laid on his desk greeting him good morning. It was, without a doubt, the best part of his day.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Frank Iero &amp; Gerard Way, Frank Iero/Gerard Way</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>School's Boring, Let's Fall In Love Instead [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667206</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Cup A Day Keeps The Students At Bay</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Bit of a fluffy one, inspired by something I saw circulating on twitter. Any mistakes I apologize, I’m unsure if I’ve already reread and edited. Have fun!</p><p>EDIT: There was a whole mess in here that I did not notice before publishing, BUT it’s all fixed AND redone a teensy bit now. So sorry!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For a little while now, like clockwork, a cup of coffee would be laid on his desk greeting him good morning. It was, without a doubt, the best part of his day. </p>
<p></p><div>
  <p>Regardless of how many times he’d done it for the job and how many times he’d done it as a kid and teenager, waking up early was still brutal. He was a groggy, cranky, upset mess for the first few hours of the day. His students loved it, of course, always letting loose a few snarky comments at the stricter teachers that ended up creating a strong bond between them. But it wasn’t ideal, it wasn’t sustainable, and, honestly, Gerard was kind of a bitch when he didn’t get to wake up at 10 in the morning. The night owl life wasn’t exactly glamorous. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Even worse, before that magical cup of coffee had started showing up on his desk, his only option had been the cheap blend they bought for everybody in the teachers lounge (Which was really just an old chemistry lab with a new name, but nobody seemed to complain), made in a very bad, very questionable machine. It didn’t even have to be that bad! But for some reason, getting a filter, putting the ground coffee in, and clicking the machine was too hard for those idiots, and it always came out disgusting. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He was embarrassed the first few times the cup showed up, thinking he’d complained a little too often and a little too loudly about such a minor nuisance that someone felt they needed to be responsible about his caffeine intake, but that quickly dissapated when he realized the coffee had been made exactly to his taste. To a T. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He walked into his classroom, smiling at it. Gerard ran his fingers through his hair a bit, attempting to make it look somewhat more presentable than just a black mop on his head, and placed his things besides his desk. Sitting in his chair, Gerard took a sip. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Hey...” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>A soft knock on the doorframe caught his attention. Gerard gave the man a small, sweet, charming smile, beckoning him to come in. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Mr. Iero. To what do I owe the pleasure?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Please, I’m begging you, don’t call me that. It makes me feel like an old fart.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Frank walked in, hands tucked in his pockets and looking a bit more casual than Gerard. He envied that a little, Gerard always felt like he needed to over present himself in this environment so as not to rile anybody up. Parents could be so much more brutal than their children. But here was Frank, in some jeans, an old pair of high tops, and a button up shirt left entirely untucked. He even rolled up his sleeves, his tattoos out for the world to see (something else Gerard envied, though not as much due to an intense fear of anything a little too sharp and bloody). </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Frank noticed the bit too long glance he extended over his arms, and smirked at the English teacher. Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he strode over and sat on Gerard’s desk. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“This one’s new,” he said, offering Gerard his forearm. Gerard gingerly placed the coffee back on his desk and grabbed Frank’s arm, softly turning it around to get a better look at the ink. The skin was a little bit raised, but it looked like it had been healing rather well. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Wow,” Gerard muttered, “I don’t know how you do it.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Do what?” </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Do...well, you. I so much as wear a scuffed up pair of shoes, and I’ll end up on the wrong side of a stuck up mother, and a crazy aunt breathing down my neck at that, but you...” he trailed off, unsure of how to word his feelings. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Well,” Frank began with a grin, “the key is to very politely tell them to fuck off. The tricky part is saying it without outright saying it. I like to show off how my kids always ace their tests, and follow it by reminding them to mind their own damn buisness.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I can’t even tell them to leave, I’m such a pushover.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You’re not. Next time it’s PTA, you’ll just happen to forget to drink coffee for the day. That’ll grow your backbone,” Frank adjusted himself over the desk, his legs lightly swinging and hanging over the side. He suddenly turned his face away, a strange look on him, “How, uh...how is it, anyway?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Gerard frowned, slightly confused. “How’s what?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“The coffee.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Oh!” Gerard blushed slightly, grabbing the cup with one hand and smiling brightly, “it’s perfect. I’ve been wondering who my secret barista was. I think a few of my kids knew, but somehow it was their best kept secret.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Frank chuckled, a sound that appeared to awaken a few long forgotten butterflies in his stomach. The feeling surprised him a bit, he wasn’t expecting any butterflies of any kind any time soon, and yet there they were, fluttering away and making him just a little bit happier that morning. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Gerard finished his cup, putting it back on his desk. Frank looked like he was about to say something back, but the sudden ring of the bell alerted them of the time that had somehow flown by a little too quickly. He hopped off his desk, flipping his hair to get his fringe out of his face, and Gerard felt that flutter again. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Secret barista, huh?” He slyly remarked, “I like that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A group of girls came in just then, squeezing themselves past Frank and settling their books and backpacks down on their desks. They all eyed the two men by the blackboard, smiling widely and suggestively, successfully earning themselves a stern look from Gerard. Frank laughed, greeting them all by their names, and started to make his way out the door. It was about time to officially start the day, as much as they both would have rather continue whatever had just happened, and if they didn’t cut it short now they’d have more teenagers spying and maybe starting a rumor or two. Not that it would be so bad. Frank was pretty cute. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He suddenly turned on his heel just before he was completely out the door and leaned on the doorframe. Gerard wondered if he was trying to look cool for him. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> “I’ll, uh, be seeing you?” Frank half-said and half-asked, sheepishly toying with the hem of his shirt. Gerard then realized he wasn’t really trying to look cool, but was actually being incredibly awkward and adorable. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“How about tomorrow morning?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Again?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yeah, why not. I like your company. And,” he tapped his mug with his finger, “We can share next time.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Frank’s eyes lit up and this time he wasn’t fast enough to hide his blush. Gerard noted how his ears turned a little red as well, and almost completely forgot they weren’t alone. Frank coughed and agreed before leaving Gerard to his class as more students kept pouring in. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Various voices filled the room, shouts and jokes and chatter all around. Underneath it all, a small whisper started to make its rounds, all a wonder about wether or not their favorite teachers would finally make a move, if they’d finally stop pining and longing for each other, or if it was all a ruse. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Not that Gerard noticed, really. His mind was elsewhere, in a place where he had a full mug of coffee and good company for the whole day. A little part of him briefly thought about the possibility of having a warm bed as well, and he coughed before it reflected on his face. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Clearing his throat, he adjusted the loose stack of papers on his desk and greeted his class. For now, he had a job to do. Tests to grade, kids to teach, English literature to pick apart. He’d have to wait for tomorrow morning to see if another cup of coffee and a charming tattooed man would be waiting for him to get to school. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>As he started his class, he felt rather amused. Suddenly it didn’t seem so bad to wake up so early in the morning. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>